Looking for a good report

Pat Fleury 2 · January 2016

Good Afternoon, Can anyone recommend a Raiser's Edge report that could be used to review pledges and show installment payments. We depend on the cash flow report to review pledge balances but would like to find an additional report. We've tried the pledge status report but the results are not consistent. For example we ran the pledge status report last week and today when it was run (using the same criteria) the prior payment balance was less even though there wasn't any activity for that fund.

Is there anyone out there that uses the pledge status report and finds it useful?

Thanks in advance for any tips!

Pat

Jen Claudy · February 2016

I encountered difficulties using canned reports for Pledges as well, because it took so long to go export raw data and sort it out in Excel to figure out what was causing the discrepancies in the report (and I was trying to reconcile RE with our Finance Dept's report). Now, I export the data to MS Access and run a custom process there that generates a nifty report that works great for us.

It's been a long time since I tried using canned reports for much, so I can't say if there's an easy way to see the detail and what may have changed between the two times you ran the report. I would recommend always pulling raw data and comparing to the report RE generates to ensure that it's doing what you want it to be doing. Better to spend the time now rather than find out later that one little checkbox was skewing results for months and you didn't know it!

A piece of our process requires a way for Access to match up Payments with Pledges...which would have been really helpful in many cases when I did it all manually in Excel. So I repurposed the Finder Number Field (Gift's Misc Tab) to be a Pledge ID Field. When entering a Pledge, I save it and then copy the Gift ID to this Pledge ID Field. Then, when Payments are entered, that Field copies over automatically. And now the raw data tells you clearly what Pledge each Payment is applied to, using that Pledge ID Field (which could also be a Gift Attribute, but we weren't using Finder Number, and I like that it's right there on the same Tab as the Gift ID).

Hopefully someone else will chime in with a canned report option that will work for you...if not, I'd be happy to help you via phone to get what you need.

Pat Fleury 2 · February 2016

Jennifer Claudy:

I encountered difficulties using canned reports for Pledges as well, because it took so long to go export raw data and sort it out in Excel to figure out what was causing the discrepancies in the report (and I was trying to reconcile RE with our Finance Dept's report). Now, I export the data to MS Access and run a custom process there that generates a nifty report that works great for us.

It's been a long time since I tried using canned reports for much, so I can't say if there's an easy way to see the detail and what may have changed between the two times you ran the report. I would recommend always pulling raw data and comparing to the report RE generates to ensure that it's doing what you want it to be doing. Better to spend the time now rather than find out later that one little checkbox was skewing results for months and you didn't know it!

A piece of our process requires a way for Access to match up Payments with Pledges...which would have been really helpful in many cases when I did it all manually in Excel. So I repurposed the Finder Number Field (Gift's Misc Tab) to be a Pledge ID Field. When entering a Pledge, I save it and then copy the Gift ID to this Pledge ID Field. Then, when Payments are entered, that Field copies over automatically. And now the raw data tells you clearly what Pledge each Payment is applied to, using that Pledge ID Field (which could also be a Gift Attribute, but we weren't using Finder Number, and I like that it's right there on the same Tab as the Gift ID).

Hopefully someone else will chime in with a canned report option that will work for you...if not, I'd be happy to help you via phone to get what you need.

Thanks Jennifer - Like you, I'm trying to reconcile Re with our Finance Department's report. I'll give your suggestion a try. If I run into problems, I'll give you a call. Thanks - Pat

John Heizer · February 2016

Jennifer Claudy:

I encountered difficulties using canned reports for Pledges as well, because it took so long to go export raw data and sort it out in Excel to figure out what was causing the discrepancies in the report (and I was trying to reconcile RE with our Finance Dept's report). Now, I export the data to MS Access and run a custom process there that generates a nifty report that works great for us.

It's been a long time since I tried using canned reports for much, so I can't say if there's an easy way to see the detail and what may have changed between the two times you ran the report. I would recommend always pulling raw data and comparing to the report RE generates to ensure that it's doing what you want it to be doing. Better to spend the time now rather than find out later that one little checkbox was skewing results for months and you didn't know it!

A piece of our process requires a way for Access to match up Payments with Pledges...which would have been really helpful in many cases when I did it all manually in Excel. So I repurposed the Finder Number Field (Gift's Misc Tab) to be a Pledge ID Field. When entering a Pledge, I save it and then copy the Gift ID to this Pledge ID Field. Then, when Payments are entered, that Field copies over automatically. And now the raw data tells you clearly what Pledge each Payment is applied to, using that Pledge ID Field (which could also be a Gift Attribute, but we weren't using Finder Number, and I like that it's right there on the same Tab as the Gift ID).

Hopefully someone else will chime in with a canned report option that will work for you...if not, I'd be happy to help you via phone to get what you need.

Ooooooh! Repurposing the Finder field that way is brilliant! Using Exports for Crystal Reports it's almost impossible to work from a payment back to the original field. But what happens when one payment is applied to multiple Pledges?

Jen Claudy · February 2016

John...I have yet to encounter that problem. Not sure what RE would do as far as automatically filling that field, but I suppose I'd put both Pledge IDs in the field and then write a trigger into my Access code to force a manual adjustment. Or maybe to copy the record and create two payment records instead of one, but that might be more trouble than it's worth for the rare instance I could see this happening (at least at this org). Always an exception, right?

Nicole S · February 2016

Well, you know what they say... A good report is hard to find.

(I'm just feeling silly.)

James Andrews · February 2016

I don't understand -- if you export pledges, installments, payments and linked gifts to access 2000 or BB report writer DB, it will automatically create the joins you're looking for: pledge ► installment ► payment ► payment gift.

If you export system record IDs or import IDs for the payment gifts, you could use that info to move things around and you wouldn't have to populate another field in RE each time.

Christine Cooke 2 · February 2016

when I have had to reconcile with Finance over pledges and payments. There are two ways I have gone. The most direct is Gift Detail and Summary Report. Change the columns so that you use only two of them. Rename them 1. Full Pledge 2. Payments. Full pledge has just the Full Pledge Amount (so uncheck that box that says to show the balance) and 2. every kind of pay- there is.

You can run canned or export into excel. All of the payments will show up in one column, you can sort it by date or batch, I always include the batch number column for Finance to reference along with myself when there are questions.

Or take that same info and write a query this looks for pledges and an export that has all the same fields as the GD&S report. it's just a matter of which you like the look of better as far as maniputation

Pat Fleury 2 · February 2016

Thanks Christine for another great approach! It's nice to know there are others out there doing these same tasks!

Thanks everyone for your responses!

Elaine Tucker · August 2016

Christine Cooke:

when I have had to reconcile with Finance over pledges and payments. There are two ways I have gone. The most direct is Gift Detail and Summary Report. Change the columns so that you use only two of them. Rename them 1. Full Pledge 2. Payments. Full pledge has just the Full Pledge Amount (so uncheck that box that says to show the balance) and 2. every kind of pay- there is.

You can run canned or export into excel. All of the payments will show up in one column, you can sort it by date or batch, I always include the batch number column for Finance to reference along with myself when there are questions.

Or take that same info and write a query this looks for pledges and an export that has all the same fields as the GD&S report. it's just a matter of which you like the look of better as far as maniputation

Christine, Do you run this report for each month? We are also trying to reconcile with FE with an end date of 7-31-16 and I'm having issues with the Pledge Status report.

I want it to give me all os pledges PRIOR to 8-1-16 on the "left side" and all the pledges and payments during August 2016 on the "right side" - anyone know how to do this?

Christine Cooke 2 · August 2016

Elaine Tucker:

Christine Cooke:

when I have had to reconcile with Finance over pledges and payments. There are two ways I have gone. The most direct is Gift Detail and Summary Report. Change the columns so that you use only two of them. Rename them 1. Full Pledge 2. Payments. Full pledge has just the Full Pledge Amount (so uncheck that box that says to show the balance) and 2. every kind of pay- there is.

You can run canned or export into excel. All of the payments will show up in one column, you can sort it by date or batch, I always include the batch number column for Finance to reference along with myself when there are questions.

Or take that same info and write a query this looks for pledges and an export that has all the same fields as the GD&S report. it's just a matter of which you like the look of better as far as maniputation

Christine, Do you run this report for each month? We are also trying to reconcile with FE with an end date of 7-31-16 and I'm having issues with the Pledge Status report.

I want it to give me all os pledges PRIOR to 8-1-16 on the "left side" and all the pledges and payments during August 2016 on the "right side" - anyone know how to do this?

I am not currently in an org that requires this info monthly. I have been where you all are as far as pulling your hair out trying to get consistent pledge numbers and not having the time/resourdes etc. to manipulate raw data from an export. I don't like to export and manipulate if I am trying to match up with Finance and in turn with auditor reviews at the end of the FY. So my approach is to find the sweet spot of canned reports and get them to give you the same info on all reports.

One key thing I seem to be noticing in these threads about pledges and balances and end of year reconciliation. No one mentions when they are pulling the reports. I have found -- through much trial and error that the least headaches and insanity regarding these reports is to pull the Cash Flow and ANY Pledge reporting (Pledge Status, Write Offs, GD&S with Pledge info) all BEFORE any new $$ are entered for the new FY. RE has a bad habit of calculating that info in even when you use end dates -- that has been my experience.

So I have gotten very strict about no new FY entries until those reports are pulled and jive. oh! and a STATIC Query is also helpful, very helpful. And that ends up being exported and is the main report Finance and Audit utilizes to cross check us.

I know the horse is out of the barn in regards to pulling before new FY entries. I would suggest pulling and crosschecking the reports listed. The oddballs will bubble to the surface.

Elaine Tucker -- I think I would pull two Static Queries for Pledges for your left and right side. and compare.

Looking for a good report

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